Train Tracks
by Billdip Anonymous
Summary: "He heard a desperate shout of "Bill!" and looked up, disoriented, as a set of glowing white lights raced toward him, a roaring filling his ears. He had just enough time to think 'crap,' before the lights reached him and his world went black." In which Bill, Dipper, and Mabel visit New York, and things don't exactly go as planned. (might lower rating) teen!Mabel&Dipper human!Bill
1. And Then There Were Two

**A/N: Yo! I'm back, and I got this idea from a tumblr prompt: accidental disasters. I don't remember by who, but it gave me this idea so… yeah. Welcome back, me, from Hiatus!**

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It was just your average day in an average city. The bustle of people, the rev of cars, the shouts of employees waving samples and the like outside their shops. No one thought anything of it. No one thought anything of the brunette twins and tall blonde who accompanied them, or how the male twin was holding the blonde's hand as they walked through a New York subway station. No one payed any attention to the trio of teens, visiting the Big Apple because the girl twin had wanted to see a Broadway show about a unicorn and had dragged her brother and his boyfriend to see it, too- much to their chagrin. No one cared or noticed to the point it was almost annoying.

As they walked, the girl was bouncing up and down and gushing over how good the show had been while her brother read a tattered, leather-bound journal with a six-fingered golden hand on the back, a large "3" scrawled across it. The blonde read over his shoulder, a faint, amused smile on his lips. He would never admit it, but he had liked the show, and even more so how the twins acted towards it in their own individual ways.

The girl had long, almost waist-length hair held back from her face by a headband. She wore a sweater with a unicorn on it and leggings with a galaxy design printed across them, bracelets adorning her wrists and star earrings dangling from her ears. Her teeth were perfectly straight from years of braces and spacers and her smile could like up even the darkest of rooms. The boy was just the slightest bit taller than her, with soft brown hair tucked into a blue-and-white baseball cap with a pine tree on the front. He wore unbuttoned red flannel over a white t-shirt and blue jeans, along with a pair of ratty old sneakers, which he loved (for reasons unapparent to his sister and boyfriend) and wore everywhere. A pen was tucked into his pocket in case he needed to jot down emergency notes in the journal.

Then there was their friend. He was tall and lithe and often enjoyed freaking out the other boy by bending in funny ways with his natural flexibility. His hair was so blonde it was nearly yellow, with black roots. He wore it to the side in a sort of mock-Mohawk, edgy-and-awesome sort of way and had a pair of unnerving golden eyes. He wore a lot of yellow and black, whether it was hoodies or t-shirts or tuxedos, as long as it was those colors, he'd wear it. That day, he wore a yellow, black, and white argyle sweater vest over a black T and black pants.

They were waiting for their train to take them to the airport. Their flight to Piedmont, California was leaving at two and the train still hadn't come after all the time they had spent waiting, but none of them really cared. They were all just enjoying themselves there at the New York station, where a golden-eyed boy and pair of eccentric twins could blend in easily and not have to worry because no one cared, and no one payed attention.

As they paced around the station, checking out the various magazines at a nearby kiosk, the boy, nose still in his journal, tripped over his shoelaces and stumbled toward the edge of the concrete where the tracks were set out.

"Dipper!" The girl cried.

She leaped towards her brother, but the blonde was faster and caught Dipper's arm just in time before he could fall to the tracks, but the momentum put him off balance. A man sped past and bumped into him, making him lose his footing completely and fall to the tracks. He heard a desperate shout of "Bill!" and looked up, disoriented, as a set of glowing white lights raced toward him, a roaring filling his ears. He had just enough time to think 'crap,' before the lights reached him and his world went black.

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 **A/N: Hehe, I'm so not sorry. But just you wait, this is going to get better.**


	2. The Law of Conservation of Energy

**A/N: Huh, I pumped this one out fast! Anyway, here it is.**

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There have been a lot of theories on death, like what happens when you die, how it feels, where you go afterwards. But the only true theory on death wasn't even meant to be one. The Law of Conservation of Energy- likely something that you would be taught in your average middle school science class- states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed. You know those people who are a little too wise for their own good and people say they have an old soul? Well they aren't kidding when they say that. That person might actually have an old soul, one that has reincarnated so many times, it has acquired knowledge that doesn't- or at least shouldn't- belong to such a young person.

That would be transferring- the dead soul moving on to someone that was born at the time they died- but then we have transforming. This is what Bill went through.

Bill Cipher was just your average high school student. He had a younger brother named Will, his best friends were Dipper and Mabel Pines, and, to a lesser extent, a freshman college student named Wendy Corduroy. He had been dating Dipper for about a year and a half now after much scheming from Mabel and her extended friends in Gravity Falls, Oregon. He was a straight A student and had been offered a scholarship to a big-time arts academy come college. He had had a lot going for him, and now, just like that, it was gone. But the last thing he expected was to open his eyes to the New York train station.

Except he wasn't on the tracks. He was standing on the platform behind a crowd of people who were huddled at the edge. Bill noticed they were looking at something on those tracks, and that a few people were ushering their children away from the scene, a fearful and almost sick look in their eyes. Bill was stunned to say the least, and even more so as he began to inspect himself.

There were no death wounds. None at all. His clothes were clean and intact and he appeared completely unharmed. How could that be? He was so sure that train had hit him…

Bill stepped toward the crowd and tried to tap someone on the shoulder, but they didn't respond. He frowned and tapped again. Still nothing. After that, Bill tried for a verbal approach.

"U-um, excuse me? What's going on?" He asked. Still no reply. It was as if he didn't exist…

'Oh, God, no.' The thought hit him harder than that train. He _was_ dead, wasn't he? But then, did that make him a ghost? Is that why no one responded? Bill stared down at his upturned palms as if they would give him the answer. And then, as if by magic, they did. A flicker of blue flame danced across his hands fleetingly and a single word popped into his head. _Demon_. Bill wasn't a ghost, he was a demon.

"Holy sh-" Bill was cut off mid-sentence by a sound he hadn't noticed earlier. It was awful and miserable, but the sound itself wasn't what scared Bill the most. It was the familiarity of it. The sound was an anguished sob, a cry, and just the sound of it pierced the newly appointed demon's heart. "Dipper." He gasped.

Bill scanned the outer rim of the crowd, searching for a way through, but the people were so tight woven, he couldn't seem to find one. Then another word popped into his head. _Float_. Could he do that? As a demon, Bill supposed he could. Maybe if he just… Bill closed his eyes and pushed off the ground. He kept waiting to touch back down from the pull of gravity, but it never happened. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself hovering a foot above the ground. "Um, okay…" He muttered, slightly nervous. He looked ahead of himself and started giving himself mental commands. _'Up, forward, a little more…'_ and eventually he wasn't even thinking about it. It was as if the whole thing came natural to him, like flexibility or coming up with good come backs.

So he hovered above the heads of the crowd, scanning it until he spotted a familiar blue-and-white hat right at the very front, a figure wearing a headband beside him.

"Oh, God, Dipper!" Bill cried. He allowed himself to hover beside the boy, who was on his knees at the edge of the tracks. He had his head lowered and was gripping his arms tightly, digging his nails into them as tears streamed down his face. Mabel crouched beside him, hugging him tight. Whether it was to console Dipper or herself, Bill wasn't sure.

And then he saw it. Glancing down at the tracks, he felt his breath catch in his throat, because laying at the bottom, spattered with blood, was his own body, staring up at him with dull golden eyes, void of the life they once held. Honestly, to describe it would be too difficult, because just looking at his broken and torn body was making him sick, but explaining to someone? He might have actually thrown up doing that.

Bill looked back at Dipper with fear and sadness. He wanted so bad to call out his name and tell him that it was all right. That he was still there. That he was fine. But he knew he couldn't, and he wasn't even sure if that would be the truth. Could you consider becoming a demon "fine"? Bill wasn't sure. But he couldn't just do nothing while the boy he had come to know and love sat there in a New York subway station, staring at Bill's own body.

And so he settled for wrapping his arms around the boy. He knew the other couldn't have known he was there with him, but he was, and Bill hoped that might be enough. At least for now.

But in truth, Dipper did feel something. He could have sworn he saw a spectral shimmer, just the fleeting image of… something come to settle itself beside him, and a moment later, an odd peace settle over him, like someone invisible was there comforting him. He heard the word "Bill," slip from between his lips, his voice ragged and broken, and felt the presence ripple, like it had been startled by his words. The flannel-clad boy glanced up at the space beside him and thought he saw that fleeting shimmer again. This time he could have sworn he could make out the startled face of a golden-eyed boy with bright blonde hair right beside him, and he felt the tears begin to flow again, spilling down his face onto a bracelet he had been holding, one of Bill's, which had slipped off when he fell to the tracks.

The boy felt a slight tug on his sleeve and turned to face Mabel. Her face was ashen with shock and she was clutching her phone in one hand.

"We should call Mom and Dad, they'll want to know about this." She whispered, as if she didn't want the crowd to hear.

Dipper nodded numbly and stood, allowing himself to be led away off to the side by his sister.

As they left and the crowd thinned, breaking off to speak in nervous tones, one being was left unnoticed by the people, and more than usual in a New York subway station. A demon with bright blonde hair and black roots, wearing a black, yellow, and white argyle sweater vest, black T, and black pants, floating behind a set of grieving brunette twins.

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 **A/N: Awesome, so now that that's done, we can get to the part in Gravity Falls itself! Next stop: confrontation, tears, and hugs.**


	3. Hello, It's Me

**A/N: hugs for Dipper!**

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The twins didn't go back to Piedmont that day. And you might find that strange, but it wasn't really home to them. Home was Gravity Falls, Oregon, in an old cabin in the woods with their nerdy/gambling grunkles and a certain bed-residing goat that Mabel had married to her pig, Waddles, one summer. They felt truly comfortable there because in a town as strange as that one, no one's normal.

And so they went back to the cabin in the woods. The Stans seemed surprised enough when their great niece and nephew showed up that day, but even more so to see that Dipper looked like he had been crying. Mabel less so, but her eyes were filled with something different, something more haunted and scarred. It had sunk in for her, and that wasn't a good thing.

After the initial greetings- which consisted of the twins immediately consuming the old men in a bear hug- Dipper walked upstairs. But he didn't speak, not once, not since the subway in New York. He just walked numbly up the creaky wooden steps to his and Mabel's old room in the attic, collapsed onto his bed, and began to cry again. He didn't even bother with his shoes, he didn't care enough.

This left Mabel to explain her brother's state to two highly baffled great uncles. How they had been in a New York subway after that musical she had wanted to see, how Dipper tripped, how Bill saved him and then… her voice cracked there. She couldn't bring herself to tell them he was hit by a train. She had been staying strong for Dipper, but now she didn't think she could. It was her turn to cry. And Stan stayed to comfort her, holding her in a hug. Ford went to check up on Dipper as the result. And maybe it wasn't the best planning, because Ford was a scientist (of sorts) and wasn't a "feelings" kind of guy, but Stan and Mabel were the feelings people and so they'd handle each other different as would he and Dipper so…

When he entered the room, he found Dipper curled on his old mattress, tears streaming down his cheeks, mouth open in a silent cry. He didn't have enough left in him to make noise. Not any more at least.

Ford sat beside Dipper, curling the boy in his arms in a sort of comfort until the boy drifted off…

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Dipper didn't remember falling asleep, but he knew he had when he opened his eyes again. The tears had stopped flowing and he definitely felt a little calmer, but the sadness was still there, like a void consuming his very being. He remembered Ford coming up and, even though he hadn't opened his eyes to see, he had known it was Ford because of the way he held Dipper. It was somewhat awkward and uncertain, like the person holding him didn't quite know how to help and that was the best they could do, but Dipper didn't mind. It really was comforting… in a way.

Come to think of it, where was Ford? Did he leave? Dipper couldn't spot him. He was the only one in the room. And was it always this grey and monochromatic in there? He could have sworn there had been color when he came up…

Dipper rubbed a hand over his eyes and cheeks. The tears hadn't just stopped flowing, they were completely gone. He blinked at himself in the mirror. He looked completely normal, as if he hadn't just cried for hours on end. What was going on?

His answer came in the form of a greeting.

"Hey, Dipper." Dipper turned to see who had spoken and when he did, he almost had a heart attack.

There he was, perfectly fine. Blonde hair left unstained by blood, eyes still sparkling and lively, clothes perfectly intact and pristine. In fact, he was smiling. Sheepishly, yes, as if he were nervous to be there, but smiling all the same.

Dipper's eyes widened and he felt them filling with tears again, threatening to spill. "Bill!" In a split second Dipper had tackled the blonde in the biggest hug he could muster. "How are you here?" He asked after he finally released Bill. "Y-you were dead… I saw the train hit you!"

Bill just gave an awkward grin. "You're dreaming, I am, and it did." He replied, as if this were all perfectly normal. Dipper took his words the wrong way, though.

"O-oh. S-so you're not r-really here? Just… my imagination?" He asked. His voice was tender and stretched to emotional capacity, Bill could tell just standing there.

"No!" Bill's eyes widened and his nerves showed through as he waved his hands frantically. "I-I just meant, well, yes, you are dreaming, but no, I'm not imaginary. I'm really here! Just, sort of different now." He said, watching his hands when he was finished. A flicker of blue flame danced over his fingertips momentarily before disappearing again.

"Holy…" Dipper stared at Bill's hands where the fire had flickered out in utter shock. "W-what…" He looked back up at the blonde, who now had a more amused grin on his face than awkward.

"Bill Cipher, newly transformed dream demon," Bill stuck out his hand jokingly. "Pleased to meet you." When Dipper just stared at him, mouth opening and closing fish-style, Bill winked at him to show he was kidding.

"God, Bill, you're going to kill me one of these days." Dipper groaned, dragging a hand down his face.

Bill picked some non-existent gunk from under his finger nails. "It's not so bad, you get used to it, really. Or at least, I did. Depends on what happens to your soul afterward." He explained vaguely.

Dipper began staring at him again. "What do you mean?"

"'Bout what?"

"Um, all of it."

Bill looked up at the brunette, one eyebrow raised. Then he seemed to remember that the other had no clue what he was talking about. "Oh, right, your still mortal. You'd think an omniscient being such as myself would remember these things." He chuckled. Then he tilted back and made a sort of loop-d-loop in midair before coming to rest "laying" on his stomach in front of Dipper, chin propped up on his hands, hovering face to face with the boy.

Dipper looked startled, to say the least, that Bill could float now, but the demon payed no attention to that.

"So, you know the Law of Conservation of Energy, right?" Dipper nodded. "Well, it applies to mortal souls, as well. A soul is technically a type of energy, and thus when its vessel dies, it can't truly be destroyed along with it, so it's either transferred or transformed. If at the exact moment you die, another creature somewhere in the world is born, then you transfer over to the new vessel and are reborn. If not, then your soul is transformed. It becomes something new, like a demon such as myself. And, I mean, you might not just be turned into a demon. It might be something else on those rare occasions, but mostly if your soul transforms, you become a demon." Bill explained. "Does any of this make… sense… to you?"

There wasn't a response for a long time. They just stood- or in Bill's case, hovered- there for what felt like ages, one awaiting a response, the other trying to process the grand scheme of life and death. Finally, Dipper spoke. And it was certainly not what Bill had expected.

"God, Bill, in elementary you could barely even memorize a goddam study guide and now you've somehow got the monologue of rebirth stamped into your memory?" Bill blinked at him. Then he started to laugh. God it felt good to laugh.

"What? You know I'm right!" Dipper whined, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.

"Exactly! That's why it's so funny!" Bill snorted, wiping a tear from his eyes and sighing. "Honestly, you're the only person I know who can take something like death and make it a punchline."

The brunette grinned and folded his arms. "Why thank you, my demonic friend." He said, giving a playful bow. Bill laughed harder. God, Dipper loved Bill's laugh. It was such a contradiction in itself, high but deep, gentle but strong, kind but dangerous. He was glad at least that hadn't changed. It almost made him forget that he was dead… oh crap, he was dead! Bill was dead and Dipper was having a casual conversation with him! Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!

Apparently his realization showed- or maybe Bill could read his mind now, Dipper wasn't sure- because Bill stopped laughing and tilted his head, worry showing on his face.

"Um, Dipper, are you okay?" He asked, leveling out into an upright position and reaching out to comfort the boy.

But Dipper just stood there, a mixture of incomprehensible emotions flashing through his wide eyes as he moved a hand to cover his mouth, staring at the ground. "Y-you're dead. Holy crap, you're dead and I'm talking to you, but I'm still alive! Bill…" Dipper looked back up and Bill could see tears starting to well up in his eyes again. "H-how are we supposed to be… you know… if you're dead?" He whispered.

The realization seemed to strike the demon pretty hard, too. He looked kind of startled, caught off guard by the information that had just been brought to his attention. God, was this going to turn into one of those Romeo and Juliet star-crossed lovers things where everyone dies? Then he heard that little voice- which he had taken to calling his in-head tutorial- murmuring something to him. He tilted his head a little as he listened, then turned back to Dipper.

"Um, okay, so another thing about new demons is we have this little voice explaining how to do things as the problem surfaces and so mine just popped in for a visit and I think I might have a little solution for this problem." He clapped his hands together in a matter-of-fact way. "Now, I am obligated to warn you that people might think you're insane if you're in public, but hey, this is Gravity Falls, I doubt anyone will notice!" Bill rambled nervously. As he spoke, Dipper wiped a few of his tears away, but he was on a roll now and they clearly didn't want to stop coming no matter how much Dipper did. He left it after a bit, letting the tears spill carelessly.

"What is it?" Dipper asked.

"Uh, well, apparently I'm aloud to grant one living person the ability to see me in the physical world. Any other person I would have to confront on my own 'home turf', a.k.a, the mindscape, a.k.a, someone's dreams. But the thing is, if someone sees you talking to me out there, they won't see me and will either take the easy road and think you have an imaginary friend or think you're mentally insane and talking to you're dead boyfriend, which technically speaking, you are, but still, doesn't look too good, sooo…"

Bill stared down at his shoes at this part, playing with his fingers behind his back to ease his fraying nerves. But to his surprise, Dipper just laughed. It was short and melodic, a kind of giggle, but it got his attention. He looked up and immediately found Dipper's hands cupping his face. The boy was still crying, likely from all the stress of recent events, but there was a small smile there that showed he was okay. Or at least, okay enough.

"Let's do it." He said. His voice was soft, alight and excited, a hint of the sadness coursing through his system breaking out in the faintest crack of his voice. But, as if to prove he was fine despite all of it, he stood on his tippy-toes and kissed the taller boy's nose, leaving him pink and just a bit flustered. Bill was never all that good at, how you say, "emotions".

And they just stood there, smiling, embracing each other in a hug- Bill's arms around Dipper's waist and Dipper's around Bill's neck- as Dipper's dream faded to nothingness and he awoke to morning light in a color-filled attic in Gravity Falls, Oregon, a blonde haired demon in black, yellow, and white seated at the edge of his bead.

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 **A/N: now for the hard part. Dipper hiding that he's in contact with Bill. It's going to suck for him having to pretend to be sad all the time… mwahahahaha.**


End file.
